The Boston Red Sox ended the Minnesota Twins’ 12-game win streak on Sunday, ending an unexpected but welcome run of success. The Twins knew that someone was eventually going to end the streak, and Rocco Baldelli probably was ecstatic to throw the rally sausage away. He seemed concerned about his players’ health. However, we don’t know what, if anything, the streak portends.
Minnesota was 7-13 before the streak started. By winning 12 straight games, the Twins cut the Cleveland Guardians’ lead in the AL Central from eight to 2.5 games and improved their playoff odds from 34% to 71%. People are quick to point out that Minnesota’s win streak was the second-longest in club history behind the 1991 squad that won 15 straight and eventually won the World Series.
However, the 1980 Twins won 12 games in a row, and that club has mostly been lost to history. They won 12 of their final 14 games to finish 77-84, third in the AL West. That team was such a disappointment that manager Gene Mauch turned down a contract extension and retired in late August. Doug Corbett (5.7 WAR), John Castino (4.5), and Roger Erickson (4.0) were their three best players. Roy Smalley and Butch Wynegar are the only players you probably would have heard of on that team.
Twelve wins in a row doesn’t mean tell us much about this team, other than that they salvaged their season. It would have been unfortunate to follow up the first playoff series win since 2002 with a lost year.
Still, things were looking that way. Injuries immediately started to pile up on this year’s club. Jhoan Duran, Caleb Thielbar, and Justin Topa started the year on the injured list. Anthony DeSclafani likely will never pitch an inning in Minnesota. Royce Lewis got hurt on opening day. Brooks Lee is still having back issues. Carlos Correa missed 16 games.
It also doesn’t help that fans are unhappy about the team cutting payroll and that Comcast subscribers cannot watch the games. Teams can withstand anger from fans; that means they care. But apathy is an organization’s worst enemy, and the Twins were risking that a year after fan interest reached a crescendo following Minnesota’s three-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays in the wild-card round.
Without the 12-game win streak, this year’s team could have become as forgotten as the 1980 club. Except it would have been worse because the Twins were an 82-win team in 1979 and lacked a star after Rod Carew departed in 1978. Minnesota was an inconsistent team most of last year, finishing with 87 wins and coming off disappointing seasons in 2021 and 2022.
However, they peaked at the end of last season. The Twins won eight of 11 games to finish the season, swept Toronto, and took Game 2 in Houston. They also seemed to be ushering in a new era. Derek Falvey and Minnesota’s front office spent money, signing Correa ($200 million) and Byron Buxton ($100 million) to mega-deals and developing late-round pitchers like Bailey Ober and Louie Varland.
The Twins also made masterful trades for Pablo López, Joe Ryan, and Duran. Lewis looked like the right choice at 1-1 in 2017, Edouard Julien was a savvy 18th-round pick, and Lee appeared ready for a major-league role. Minnesota was wise to stick with Max Kepler, who was hitting below the Mendoza line in June.
It was easy to question Minnesota’s front office after their surprisingly disappointing 2021 season. After winning the AL Central in back-to-back seasons, they entered that year with World Series aspirations. However, they didn’t have much pitching behind José Berríos and rookie Bailey Ober. Alex Colomé had blown enough saves to ruin their season before it started, and Josh Donaldson looked like a failed signing.
Fans held the Twins to a higher standard this season, though. Winning division championships is one thing. The Ron Gardenhire era teams that. But winning in the playoffs had become a foreign concept. Still, while losing this season would have been more devastating from an on-field perspective, the front office is more proven.
Unlike in the NFL and NBA, where young players are well-known entering the draft and can make an immediate impact, MLB prospect pipelines take years to construct. Therefore, continuity is paramount to a baseball team’s success. Prospects can incubate in the minor leagues for five to seven years, and communication between a franchise’s front office and the minor league is vital. Management changes can set teams back years because of philosophical and personnel changes.
Twins ownership likely would have been patient with Falvey and Thad Levine. But if Minnesota had suffered a lost season after one month, it would mean that they would have missed the playoffs in three of the past four years. Add the payroll cut and Bally-Comcast standoff to the mix, and it would have been a devastating blow for a franchise that should have been building off its postseason run last year.
Minnesota’s 12-game win streak may have saved their season. Instead of throwing it away, they tossed the rally sausage in the trash and will move forward despite everything that has already happened this year. Still, they cannot become complacent. The 1980 and 1991 teams had long win streaks and finishing the year in vastly different places. But the Twins can bask in the afterglow. They have survived a 7-13 start. Now, we’ll learn whether people will remember the first 20 games or the 12-game win streak years from now – if they remember this season at all.
